Rose susurrus

One late summer afternoon in the rose garden, the stillness was broken by an old, many-petalled rose bloom finally shattering in the heat.

As I watched the petals slowly drop away in turn, I marvelled that sound they made, brushing against the leaves as they fell, was just like a final, relaxed sigh.

I did not know the word at the time, but years later, when I first heard the word and asked the meaning, I felt a flash of recognition. This had been a susurrus. I hope I will always be able to summon up the memory of this moment – it’s one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard.

Susurrus means a sound so quiet it is almost imperceptible, from the Latin word for whisper. I’m using it as my online name to remember that, whether we have a large following or no following at all, each of our posts is just a whisper in the enormous, bustling online community that surrounds us.

If you’ve found your way here, thanks for taking the time to share this moment with me.